Light Stax LED Building Blocks, Lite Brite Meets Duplo?

Ever wonder what would happen if a Lite Brite and a lonely LEGO Duplo block got crazy one night, had a few juice boxes, and played Twister? Let’s just say Duplo wasn’t lonely anymore, and they created the coolest block ever. That’s what Light Stax look like to me: a glowing, stackable, love child. Light Stax are LED building blocks that light up when attached to their power generating base. And they look awesome.

Coming this summer, Light Stax will be available in starter kits of 12 different colored blocks. Each kit will also come with a power base, which runs on three AAA batteries, which means no wires or cords. When a Stax block is placed on the power base, it can glow in either solid, flashing or fading light. And what’s really cool is that once a block is on the base, any block connected to that one will also glow. And so will the one attached to that one. And so will the next. You get it.

But what might be even cooler is that Light Stax are compatible with the other traditional building blocks on the market. This means I don’t have to buy my kids a whole new line of blocks to take advantage of a glowing creation. My three-year-old has the LEGO Duplo First Farm set. The barn doesn’t glow, but with Light Stax we can build a barn that partially glows. Until she talks me into buying another set so we have enough to make a whole barn glow. And then we can set the lights to flashing and have a barn animal disco.

Don’t feel bad about spending money on blocks for your kids. Yes, they are a pain to clean up or step on, but they are so good for your child’s development. Blocks keep your child engaged in creativity, math, language, and even science. Scholastic can give you more detailed reasons why in their article All About Blocks, but I promise that blocks will keep your kids happy and busy. And blocks that light up will totally impress your kids. And keep them out of your hair.

Light Stax also impressed Popular Science at this year’s American International Toy Fair in New York. Popular Science saw them and named them one of the 10 best toys from the fair. See? Blocks are getting awards by very smart people. And you can use these LED blocks to teach your kids about contact points and circuits.

Kids don’t like their creations disrupted, so when it’s time to turn off the lights, the switch can be found on the side of the power base and not the bottom. No creations will need to be upended. Some kids don’t like to take down their creations, so maybe if you convince them to make a night light with their Light Stax, they will want to keep their creation in their room instead of on the kitchen floor. Blocks that magically go to a kid’s room and keep monsters away? Bonus.

The homepage for Light Stax is short on content, which they apologize for, but I found product features for Light Stax at Red5. But really, the blocks glow for themselves. They are LED building blocks. And the best—imaginary—love child ever.

WRITER’S UPDATE: Light Stax are now being distributed in the United States at the Lazy Dog & Company. Email them at thelazydogco@gmail.com to get more information on how you can get your hands on these very cool blocks.

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